


The Enigma of Emery Wren

by thetinypianist



Series: Enigma [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: But she's still a BAMF, Confused Tony Stark, I promise she isn't a Mary Sue, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is toeing the line between mentor/boss and dad, Yes it's an OC fic, she also needs a hug, sue me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-26 20:12:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19775545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetinypianist/pseuds/thetinypianist
Summary: When Pepper had told him he was going to be getting a personal assistant, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen. Crying and running out on the first day? Maybe. Starry-eyed hero worship? Definitely.He sure as hell wasn't expecting this.





	1. Her Backbone

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! First fic here, hope having an OC fic isn't considered cringe-worthy by now. Hope you enjoy!

When Tony first met her he was, quite frankly, underwhelmed by what he saw. The small, unassuming, bespeckled young woman dressed in a cardigan, dress and mary janes who currently stood before him looked like she should be teaching five-year-olds the alphabet, not interviewing for the highly competitive position of Tony Stark’s PA.

“I’m sorry, did you somehow get lost on your way to the daycare?” He snarked, looking her up and down from where he sat at his desk. “Because I’m looking for a personal assistant who can comprehend the details of the tech industry, not a preschool teacher whose job is to sing nursery rhymes and teach toddlers all day.” He added with a smirk, fully expecting her to burst into tears and run out the door like the last five candidates Pepper had sent his way.

To his surprise, however, she smirked right back. “Well, Mr. Stark, unless they’re teaching Physics to toddlers, I doubt I’d be of much use to the daycare center for much other than my darling personality.” She quipped, leaning back in her chair.

‘Brave girl.’ Tony thought, mildly impressed. He stood, walking around the desk to get closer to her. “So, tell me, what makes you so much better than all the other people who applied for this job?” He asked, leaning on his desk. “ I’m sure you know only the best and brightest got far enough to have an interview with me. So, Emery Wren, what makes you so special?” Tony asked, his eyes boring into her.

She stared right back at him, seeming almost unimpressed. “I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia-” She started.

“And?” He challenged “You and everyone else who got this far, and from just as, if not more, impressive schools. MIT, Harvard, Yale-”

“If you’d let me finish” Emery interrupted coolly, well-contained irritation in her eyes “you’d know that I graduated with Doctorates in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Bio-Chemistry, as well as a Masters in Business. Top of my class. Not to mention, I was here well before my scheduled time, and I saw each and every one of those other "cream of the crop" candidates scurry out of their interviews with their tails between their legs not even 5 minutes in.” She leaned forward, steel replacing the previous irritation in her eyes. “ And I’m currently at five minutes and 53 seconds, so if you want an assistant with a spine, I’m your best bet.” 

He grinned, glad to finally get someone that didn't run at the first sign of sass, and offered his hand.

“You’re hired.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think and how it could be improved. I already have a few chapters written, but I'm hoping to maybe get some suggestions to follow and improve my writing with.


	2. Her Leadership

He had to admit, Emery had taken to her new role as his personal assistant like a duck to water, and it was no surprise. She was insanely smart, a certified genius with an IQ that probably rivaled his own, and could go toe to toe with any of the Stark Industries board members any day of the week. And she did it all with a cheery smile and a sunshine demeanor to match her elementary school teacher look she had going on.

Only a month in, and he wasn’t sure how he had survived without her. His calendar hadn’t been this well organized since Pepper had taken over as CEO, not to mention how much free time he had to invent ever since the young blonde had taken to fielding his work calls and attending his meetings in his place. He’d never asked it of her, but she’d insisted. 

She was better at paying attention and taking notes, anyway.

He had assumed that that, along with the other errands she did for him, was as deep as she got into the inner workings of Stark Industries.

He was proven wrong when one day, while bored of tinkering with his latest project, Tony decided to take the elevator to the R&D intern labs to see what they were working on. Tony arrived, unseen by everyone on the floor, to the normal sounds and sights of researchers hard at work. The (relative) calm abruptly vanished, replaced with an explosion that set a table on fire. The interns working panicked, scrambling away from the fire. Tony was getting ready to step in and take control of the chaos when he heard a commanding shout.

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

All movement stopped and everyone, including Tony, turned to the voice that had come from the worker’s elevator. To Tony’s shock, the petite form of his assistant stepped out, cardigan and all, her glare making even the senior interns cower. 

“What are you standing around for?” She demanded as they stood, stock still. “Arguelles, Matthews!” Two of the interns snapped out of their frozen state “Get the chemical fire extinguisher and the hazardous waste kits, now!” She barked, jabbing a finger to where they were kept.

“Yes, Dr. Wren!” The two called, dashing over to the supplies and swiftly putting them to use. Once the situation under control, she stepped towards the interns, anger evident in her normally sparkling blue eyes. “When I got an alert from F.R.I.D.A.Y. that there was a chemical fire down here, I interrupted my very busy schedule to check to see if there were injuries that needed tending, NOT to keep you from running around like headless chickens! One fire is all it takes for you to forget all procedure and start panicking? Disgraceful!” She shouted, slamming her fist into the closest table, causing several interns to flinch. “You are among the best and the brightest in your field, I expect more from you.” She added, looking each intern in the eye in disappointment.

“Now, tell me,” Emery said, clasping her hands together. ”Whose experiment was that?” she asked.

Tony watched as one of the newest interns raised a trembling hand. “M-mine, ma’am.” She said, voice trembling before she started crying. After what he just saw, he fully expected Emery to start ripping into her, but instead, he saw her face immediately soften as she gently placed a hand on the intern’s shoulder.

“Hey, don’t cry,” She said calmly as the intern sniffled. “What’s your name?” She asked.

“Addison Hartly” Came the soft reply.

“Well, Addison, it was very brave of you to own up to your mistakes. You’re not in any trouble, I just want to know what happened so I know everything is handled safely.” She said softly.

“I...I was working on a project for the medication for enhanced metabolisms, and I added the sodium to the compound, but I wasn’t thinking and I...uh, grabbed a drink of my water, and-”

“Water got into the compound and set off the explosion.” She finished. “It’s okay, Addison mistakes happen.” She added, straightening up. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up and head over to the medical wing to make sure you’re okay.” She said, guiding the intern to the elevator, hand still on her shoulder. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., “ She called out “Get the hazardous waste cleaners down to lab 46, and tell them no water-based cleaners.”

“Of course, Emery.” The AI replied.

The assistant and the intern stepped into the elevator. “Get back to work!” She barked as the doors closed, causing the rest of the interns to snap out of their frozen state, heading back to their normal assignments, leaving Tony to slip away, unnoticed, with a newfound vow to not get on her bad side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, and let me know if there's anything I could be doing better!


	3. Her Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got too impatient to wait to space out uploading the chapters they'd already written?
> 
> Me, bitch!
> 
> So here's another chapter, boo!😘😘 (Guess who just accidentally learned they could bring up an onscreen keyboard and use it to type emojis on their laptop?)💕💕💕💕💕💕

Like all things concerning his assistant, Tony noticed her strength in flashes and moments before he really, truly, saw it. 

Like the fluff of short blonde hair peeking out from a tower of files walking past him in the hall, footsteps light and silent as ever. He nodded briefly at the stack of files, continuing down the hall before stopping as he did a double take at the person carrying them. The man sighed, turning on his heel to stalk back over to the young woman. He placed a hand on the stack, stopping her in her tracks. 

"Em, what the hell are you doing?" He asked, sounding almost resigned to her odd quirks.

"What do you mean, sir?" Came a genuinely confused voice.

"Enough with this sir stuff-"

"Of course, _Mr.Stark._ " She corrected, and he could practically hear the teasing in her voice. Rolling his eyes, he added, " First of all, it's Tony, second of all, why aren't you using the tablet I gave you for all these notes? It'd weigh much less.”

“I do take the majority of my paperwork on my tablet, Mr., uh, _Tony_.” She said, pointedly correcting herself. “However, I like to have a physical copy of all contracts, notes, and other paperwork in case F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s databases is somehow compromised. It’s kept in a filing room hidden in my office that’s locked which a physical combo that only I know, and change randomly so that if someone somehow happens to find a written copy of the code, there’s no way for them to know if it’s the most recent one. I’ve planned for every contingency.”

He stared at her, stunned. “I, um, uh, wow…nevermind, that stack is huge, how much does that even weigh?”

She shifted, slightly lifting the stack of files and studying it. “ Um, well, this particular stack is...about 3 feet tall, and if an average ream of printer paper is 2 inches thick and 5 pounds, I’d say, solely based on an equally tall stack of printer paper’s measurements for convenience sake...90 pounds?” She said casually, looking up at him.

“Jesus, Em, how-”

“Gotta go file these, Mr. Stark!” She interrupted, walking away, leaving Tony to his confusion.

Pretty soon, instances of her casual displays of strength became commonplace in their work together. He’d seen her lift DUM-E to free him from a too tall step in the lab on more than one occasion where she thought he wasn’t looking, and if anyone said he smiled when there was an exchange of a series of grateful sounding beeping and halfhearted scolding, he’d say they’re seeing things. He was curious about how a tiny, nerdy girl could lift all that like it was nothing, but he brushed that aside. It was pretty useful to not have to move stuff in the lab when she was there, after all.

He’d thought he had seen all she had to offer, from all the heavy lifting in the lab as his unofficial lab assistant, but he was wrong.

Oh, god, he was wrong.

After months of her regular presence in the lab, there was rarely a day where they weren’t working down there together. Unfortunately, Emery was attending one of the required meetings in his place, so he was stuck down here, alone.

No, really, he was stuck under one of his cars, his robots beeping sadly after a failed attempt to lift the stupid thing.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y?” He called, not at all panicking (lies), “Can you call Emery down? Tell her it’s urgent.”

“Of course, sir.”

A few minutes passed before he heard the lab’s door open. “Mister Stark? Where are you?”

He sighed a breath of relief. “ I’m over here, Em! I’m kinda, sooorta...stuck.” 

There were a few muttered curses from across the room, followed by the frantic steps of his assistant. “ Oh my god, Tony!” She said, her voice somewhere between annoyed and anxious. “ The one time I leave you down here alone...I’ll get you outta there, don’t worry!” 

“Yeah, just grab the other car jack and HOLY SHIT!” He yelped as the car suddenly lifted off of him, the other jack nowhere to be found. And, once again, there was his assistant, blowing his mind as she lifted the car like it was a toy. 

“Oh, my god, Tony, are you okay? Please get out of there before I drop this!” She said, still clearly worried and not even fazed by the fact that she was lifting an entire car over her head. He quickly listened to her, though, not knowing how long she could keep that up. Once he was out, she set it back down and instantly went into her mother hen mode, checking him for injuries. One of the robots brought her a first aid kit, and Tony studied her as she pulled out the ointment and band-aids for the few scrapes he had.

She worked in silence for a few minutes before Tony spoke.

"How did you do that?" He asked, sneaking a glance at her.

Her hands paused briefly. " Do what?" She replied.

"The macarena," He said sarcastically "I'm talking about how you lifted an entire car off of me just now!"

She quickly glanced away. "Oh, um, hysterical strength, ya know?" The young woman explained, a slight edge to her voice. "Now let me work." 

“Maybe I should get stuck under my cars more often,” He mused, earning a concerned look from the girl patching him up.”I’ve been trying to get you to call me Tony for six months now. Who knew gravity and a car was all it took!” He said with a grin, earning himself a halfhearted smack over the head.

“Nice try, Mr.Stark,” Said Emery, placing the last band-aid and standing. “ but I’m still not calling you Tony.” She turned and walked out to return to her meeting.

Well, at least he tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it really hysterical strength? Who knows? (Me, boo ;))
> 
> Edit: Sneak peek for the next chapter, one that sounds concerning both in and out of context.
> 
> "Not my blood, they have backup, let's go"


	4. Her Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back posting as much content as I can!

Tony did a double take when Emery showed up in his office wearing dark jeans, button up, and a sports jacket instead of her usual school teacher look. “What’s this, Em? Why’d you suddenly ditch your cardigan and mary janes? Not that I mind you switching it up, but that look’s iconic, and it’s funny when it looks like the board members are being owned by a kindergarten teacher.” He asked, to which she rolled her eyes.

“We have the science conference today, Mr.Stark, and I don’t want to be escorted out by security that thinks a twelve-year-old snuck into a tech meeting. Again.” She said, remembering the tech convention a few months prior where Tony had to fetch her from security because they thought she had faked her VIP badge when she reentered the building after getting them some coffee. Tony smirked, remembering the same day. “Anyways,” She continued “I have all the stuff we’ll need in here,” She said, patting her messenger bag.” And I texted Happy. He should be outside by the time we get to the lobby. The conference starts in half an hour, and traffic is starting to pick up, so we should leave early.” He grinned at her as they headed to the elevator.

“You really think of everything, Wren.”

“I try, sir.”

“What if we took the Iron Man suit? There’s no traffic in the sky other than Spider-Man!”

“No way, I hate heights!”

20 minutes later, they pulled up to the convention center, where they were greeted at the door by the event coordinator. “Welcome, Mr. Stark! It’s fantastic that you could finally come this year!” He said enthusiastically. “ And who is this young lady? You must be one lucky intern to help Mr. Stark today!” He added, turning to the petite blonde with a smile that felt like a metaphorical pat to the head.

“Um, actually-” She started, clearly annoyed, only to be interrupted by Tony.

“I’ve got this one, Em” He whispered before looking at the man with the most passive-aggressive smile Emery had ever seen. “ Oh, you haven’t met Dr. Wren? That’s a surprise, considering she’s the head scientist of my Bio-Mechanics division, the internship coordinator, and my personal assistant.” He said, grin widening as the poor man paled.

“Um, also,” She added, pushing up her glasses,” Did you forget that I’m on the Bio-Engineering panel today? We exchanged several emails so my meeting times wouldn’t conflict with Tony’s?” She said, smiling sweetly, but Tony knew a “fuck you” was disguised behind that sweet voice and sunshine smile, and her name drop was only to show the poor man her authority. He’d taught her well.

“I- uh, my apologies, Dr. Wren,” The man stuttered out.” I’ll make sure no mix-ups happen again.”

She beamed up at him. “ Great! Now if you could show us where to pick up our badges, we’ll be on our way!”

“Of course, doctor. Mr. Stark, Dr. Wren, right this way.”

Other than that, the conference was going smoothly. After attending several meetings together, the two scientists went to their respective panels, which were being held in lecture halls on different floors. 

That was when things went to hell in a handbasket.

Tony was in the middle of the Q&A for his panel when the lights suddenly went out and alarms started going off. He would have brushed it off as a demo blowing the power and setting off the fire alarm, but he then received a text from his assistant.

_ Armed intruders here 4 you. Downstairs lockdown. signal to the IM failed. Fri down. Get to the stairs down the hall to left. Get upstairs. Meet you. _

Tony looked up to the other people in the lecture hall, who were all murmuring to themselves. He stood. “There’s been a break-in. They’re here for me. Once I leave, lock the doors and stay low. Don’t let them see you!” He barked before rushing out and down the hall, leaving the shouts of protest behind. He flung open the door to the stairs and booked it upstairs, the sirens blaring and his heart pounding in his chest like a drum as he fled. Under normal circumstances, he would have fought back and been a hero, but right now he was without his suit. Without the suit, he was just a very rich man with a very killable body, and that made him feel very vulnerable. The sounds of fighting got louder, and he froze. Where was Emery? Who was fighting? Who was winning? Were they coming for him next? 

All the questions that had flown through his mind were quickly answered when he saw none other than his anomaly of an assistant charging up the stairs, shirt and jacket torn and bloodied. She tore past him, grabbing his wrist in an iron grip and pulling him along. “Not my blood, they have backup, let’s go.” She said in a clipped tone, leaving no room for questions. Together they raced up the stairs until they reached an unoccupied meeting floor. She pulled him into a meeting room, locking the door and pulling the table to barricade the door.

“What the hell happened to you? Where did you learn to fight?” He questioned, wondering how she had gotten past the intruders and apparently injured them enough to require their backup. She ignored him, instead listening at the door. She strode to the window abruptly, searching for something. “We don’t have time for questions, they’re almost on this floor and there’s nowhere else to go.” She said urgently.

“You said you couldn’t get the armor, how are we getting out?” He asked, now fearful for their safety.

“Not now, Mr. Stark!” She barked, still searching. She cursed softly. “There’s no emergency latches on these windows,” She muttered. “Looks like it’s the old fashioned way” 

She and Tony startled at the banging and shouting on the door. She turned to him, put her hands on his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

“I- what?”

She narrowed her eyes. “There are secrets I haven’t told you, and I promise I’ll explain everything, but right now we’re out of time. Now, do you trust me, Tony?” She asked again, more forcefully this time, the use of his first name snapping him out of his panic.

The world fell into an oppressive silence as he focused on her. Meeting her gaze, he answered without hesitation. 

“Yes.”

“Good. Let’s go.” She released him and strode back over to the windows overlooking the city, pulling off her jacket and balling it around her fist. Before he had a chance to ask, she punched through the window, completely shattering it. After slinging her bag across her back, she scooped Tony into her arms and took a running leap out of the window. Tony let out an undignified screech and shut his eyes, fully expecting them to go splat on the sidewalk. Death via a crazed employee, he mused, what a weird way to die.

Only, instead of the hard ground, he felt the wind whipping around them. He opened his eyes slightly and saw his assistant, yes, but also a large pair of dark wings behind her. He had barely begun to comprehend this newfound knowledge when he felt them land. She set him down on his feet, and he finally took in their surroundings. They were back at the tower. He turned back to look at her. She looked like an angel of death, with larger than life black wings and a formerly pristine dress shirt, now torn and stained with blood that wasn’t her own. She caught his eye and sighed, her wings folding as she relaxed a little. “ Come on, let’s get inside and cleaned up. We’ll meet up in the living room on your floor and I’ll explain.” She said, walking past him to the roof access door.

He hurried to follow with questions that would, hopefully, soon be answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter used to have the full explanation and backstory included, but it felt too long, so I decided to split it into two separate chapters: Her Power and Her Past.
> 
> Can you guess what song I was listening to while writing this chapter? I'll give you a hint: It inspired the inclusion of the sirens and use of comparing his heart to a drum (think backbeat), as well as its title being very appropriate to the action.


	5. Her Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Finally finished this chapter! Hope you enjoy!

About 20 minutes later they were sitting across from each other in his living room in new clothes, silent as they drank their coffee, both reluctant to address the elephant in the room. Finally, Tony worked up the courage to break the tension by asking one simple, but difficult question.

“Who are you?”

The girl in question took a breath and set down her mug. “If you look at my record, I’m Emery Wren. I was born and raised in Lower Manhattan and graduated top of my class at Stuyvesant High School. While there, I was an active member of just about every science-based club. Despite being so active and even volunteering outside school, I didn’t have a huge amount of friends outside of school, which shows in my social media posts from that time being mostly composed of pictures of me at school-relate events. I had a perfect SAT score, straight As, a perfect attendance record, a perfect GPA, and glowing recommendation letters from several of my professors. I was accepted to Columbia with a full-ride scholarship, where I pursued a double major in Physics and Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Business. I later added Biochemistry as another major and got my first degrees in all of them. I continued into graduate school for doctorates in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Biochemistry, graduating Summa Cum Laude. On paper, I’m just a genius doctor with all the things you expect to find in a deep search into who I am: Birth certificate, a social security number, photo ID, medical records, family taxes, student loan debt, school records, previous addresses, parent names, the works.” She said, leaning back in her chair. “You’d never think anything was awry.”

Tony leaned forward, intrigued. ”So what’s off the records?”

The young woman closed her eyes. “ In my real past, I’m experiment 67, the first successful run of The AoD project-Angel of Death. I was code name Vengeance, created to be the perfect hidden weapon. Perfect intelligence, speed, strength, senses, all condensed into a tiny,  unassuming girl. Their main project was to train me and hone my abilities until they could sell me off to the highest bidder. I was trained in combat and espionage, as well as educated in everything I’d need to know to pass as an innocent, but brilliant, daughter of a rich family. And they almost succeeded in molding me into their perfect soldier.”

“Almost?” He asked, the confusion clear in his voice. “From what I saw today, you’re a damn good fighter, so what happened?”

She froze, her face contorting into a grimace. “I rebelled when I could-giving myself a name, keeping track of my age- because I knew, deep down, that I was still human and could choose my own life if I wanted. One day, I guess I took it too far by refusing to cooperate, and one of the head scientists assaulted me. It was the last straw.” She said, her eyes locking on him before she continued, her voice suddenly flat. “ I escaped, burnt the lab to the ground, and made sure not one of them escaped with their lives. I made sure no one would have to go through what I did. I made my way downstate to the city and hacked into multiple databases to create a new identity for myself. I got accepted to Columbia after that, and everything is history.” She finished, standing from her chair and smoothing the wrinkles from her pants. She turned and started to leave, only to pause at the door to the elevator. “Oh, by the way, that vigilante you’ve been looking into? Dark Sparrow?” She said casually, looking over her shoulder at Tony. “Yeah, that’s me.”

Tony rose. “Wait-”

“Bye, Mr. Stark!” She called, the elevator doors closing behind her, leaving the poor genius with more questions than she had answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, make sure to comment and tell me if there's anything I can do to improve my writing!  
> Fun fact: Grammarly makes it super easy to find and correct mistakes, and even gives you readability and clarity assessments, so you can learn more about your writing. To top it all off, that's available in the basic, free extension! There's even more I don't even know about if you pay for premium, which is 11.66 USD.


	6. Her Protectiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhnnnngh this is a long one, not gonna lie. Enjoy!

A week after the attack on the conference, things were back to their weird brand of normal, with Tony and Emery back down in the lab working on their latest project: Upgrading the Dark Sparrow suit.

“I told you, Mr. Stark, the suit doesn’t need more upgrades,” Emery protested weakly, already knowing that all arguments would be ignored. 

Tony scoffed at that and rolled his eyes. “Wren, if you really didn’t want these upgrades, you wouldn’t be polishing the coding on AILIS right now. Or just so happen to have been doing that well before I wanted to do upgrades.” He replied pointedly. “Besides,” He added. “a nanotech suit isn’t an upgrade, it just makes it more accessible in case of an emergency.” Tony reasoned, finishing the final touches on the watch that housed the new suit. He spun his chair to face her, holding the watch. “Is she ready?” He asked, glancing at the lines of coding on her screen. 

She nodded. “Transferring now.” She replied, barely looking up at him as she started the process. Once it started loading, she watched it, fidgeting with nervous anticipation.

“She’ll be perfect, Emery, I know it.” He reassured her. When her eyes remained glued to the screen, the resulting silence stretched for several minutes. “Have you thought about my invitation?” He asked, startling her out of her hyper fixated state. She blinked the dryness out of her eyes before turning to look at him.

“I told you, Mr.Stark,” She said softly, refusing to meet his gaze. “I don’t think I’m ready to be a part of the team. Everything I can do is already done by the rest of the team, who all have years of experience to back it up.” 

He opened his mouth to protest but was interrupted by a beep, the watch’s face lighting up green.

“Hello, Emery, Mr. Stark.” Came a lilting Irish voice. “I’m AILIS, your Advanced Integrated Learning Intelligence System. I’m happy to be online!” She chirped. Emery stared at it, her expression a mix of shock and overwhelming joy. 

“She works.” She stated numbly, her eyes glued to the watch in her boss’s hand. “I can’t believe she actually works.” She whispered, her voice almost reverent.

“You better believe it, Emery.” Replied the AI in a cheeky tone. “I would be insulted if you thought I didn’t!” 

Apparently, Tony mused, it was impossible for either of them to create an AI that didn’t have at least a little sass sneaking into their code.

“She works!” The AI’s creator cried, leaping out of her chair and grabbing Tony’s arms. “She works, she works, she works, she works, she works!” She yelled repeatedly, excitedly jumping around, her wings fluttering behind her. To Tony’s surprise, she pulled him into a hug. “I finally did it, Tony.” The petite girl mumbled into his chest, oblivious to Tony staring down at her, still in shock from the sudden affection. He briefly considered pushing her away but decided against it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the still mumbling girl, letting her have this victory. He smiles, unseen by her, for a few minutes before pulling away gently.

“I knew you could do it, kid.” He said warmly, still smiling down at her. “ Now how about we get you to the testing room to play with your new tech?” He offered. She grinned and wiped the tears from her eyes, grabbing the watch and putting it on. He started to follow the young genius, who was now practically vibrating with excitement as she made her way to the elevator, only to stop when he heard her stomach growl loudly. “Hold on,” He called, ignoring how parental his voice was. “Fri, how long has it been since Emmy ate?”

“Approximately 16 hours, sir.”

He looked disapprovingly at the girl in question, arms crossed. She at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish. “Sorry, Mr. Stark,” She said, embarrassed. “I was busy with an accident report in the Robotics labs, then I got caught up in my coding and couldn’t think of eating when I was so close to finishing her, and-”

He cut her off with a raised hand before she could begin her incoherent rambling. “I’m not mad. I’d be lying if I said I never put my work before food, but you, Miss Super Metabolism, need to be more careful.” He said, wagging a finger at her.

Oh, god, he was parenting.

Her shoulders visibly sagged in relief. “Thanks for not being mad. I’ll make sure to get AILIS to remind me to eat when I’m working.” She promised.

“Good. Now, why don’t we go grab some lunch that burger place that just opened up?” He suggested, clapping a hand on her shoulder and walking with her to the elevator.

A short drive later, and they were sitting in a booth enjoying their burgers, chatting and joking as they ate. Tony had learned long ago to not question the massive amounts of food Emery could polish off in one sitting, which was coming in handy right now because the burger she was currently wolfing down was large enough to make even Steve feel nauseous. He forced himself out of his thoughts to chuckle at the mishaps in the intern labs that had caused the need for that accident report she had mentioned earlier.

“-and then Samuels said ‘I thought I could knock the drone that was stuck in the ceiling by hitting it with another one, but then that one got stuck, too! So I sent another one, and another, but then the weight of the drones got too heavy for the ceiling tile, and that’s how I accidentally crushed Maria’s project.’ ” She said between fits of laughter.

“Hold on, wait wait wait, you’re telling me one of your best interns thought he could use vending machine logic to get it down? Why?” He asked, laughing right along with her.

“He didn’t want me to find out, thought I’d be mad for crashing a multimillion-dollar drone into the ceiling.” She explained through her mouthful of burger. She swallowed the last of her burger quickly. “So, wanna head back and test out that suit?” She asked, waving down the waitress when he nodded. The waitress placed down the bill and Emery pulled out her card, going to place it in the little folder, but was stopped when Tony put his hand over hers from across the booth. She looked at him, about to protest. 

“Em, I can pay, it’s fine. You don’t make nearly enough to be paying for me.” He said in a soft but firm voice, leaving no room for arguments. She relented, pulling back her hand with a scoff. 

“You pay me just fine, but whatever, Mr.Billionaire.” She said sarcastically. He chuckled at that and handed the card to the waitress. When she brought it back, they got up and left to return to their work, thinking nothing of the casual lunch they’d shared.

The next day, however, would change that.

When Emery came into the lab the next morning, Tony knew something was up. Instead of her usual prim and proper attire, she wore jeans and a Stark Industries t-shirt, a baseball cap pulled low over her face. Clutched in her hands was a crumpled newspaper.

“Em? What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned.

She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy. “Someone saw us at the restaurant yesterday.“ She started, her voice trembling. “They...they snapped a photo of us. Now every news outlet is saying that we’re…”She trailed off, opting instead to unfold the newspaper and letting him read it for himself.

_ Tony Stark Unfaithful! _

He stared at the photo in horror. Someone had snapped a photo of right when he had stopped her from paying. His hand over hers, and a soft look in his eyes that, out of context, could look romantic instead of paternal (which Tony would still deny, at least in public, absolutely no paternal feelings here, no sir!). He looked back at his tearful assistant. “It’s gonna be okay, Em-”

“No, it’s not!” She exclaimed. “They have my name, my address! There was paparazzi outside my apartment building today. I went out the back entrance so they didn’t see me. I had to bring Clara with me so she didn’t have to see that-”

“Wait, who’s Clara?” He asked, cutting through her panicked rambling.

She hesitated. “My daughter. She’s 5, and she’s down at the daycare right now. I called the school to let them know she wouldn’t be there today.” She said, finally starting to calm down as she thought of her child. “She’s like me.” She added.

“Too smart for her own damn good?” Tony joked, earning him a half-hearted glare.

“No- well, yeah, she made all my baby proofing useless and made at least one of her teachers cry, but that’s not what I meant. She’s...enhanced. She doesn’t have full-fledged wings yet, so they’re easy enough to hide until they get to the size that they retract properly, and luckily she’s smart enough to know not to tell people about her abilities, but I’m scared that, with the media knowing who I am, they’ll somehow find out about us and what we are. About who I am under the mask, and she’ll be put in danger by people who want to experiment on her or use her to get to Dark Sparrow. I have security measures at my apartment, but I’m not sure if it’ll be enough to stop someone who wants to hurt us.” She said, the anxiety creeping back into her voice.

“Then move in here.” Tony said casually as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She blinked, surprised. “What? I-I can’t ask that of you, Mr.Stark.” She stuttered out

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m offering, then.” He replied with a smirk. “ It’s the most logical step from here to ensure your safety. You know the tower has bleeding-edge security, and there’s plenty of room. You’ll have a floor for the two of you, just like the Avengers do, with a kitchen, living room, specialized training room, the works. It’s no burden on me, I promise. We can get Happy to bring us to your building so we can start getting your things, then we can deal with the press once we’re done, okay?” He explained.

She nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

The paparazzi were still at the entrance when they pulled up to the apartment complex in a rented SVU that looked like something Tony wouldn’t touch with a 50-foot pole, so Emery directed Happy to where the hidden back entrance was. She lead them to her apartment and they quickly got to work, packing away their belongings which, admittedly, wasn’t that much more than the essentials. When she saw the confused looks on their faces, she explained, “Well, I never really felt comfortable with having a ton of stuff, and I figured it would make it easier if I suddenly had to leave. Guess I was right!”

Not long after, they had finished packing and loading the boxes into the van, Emery going back inside to drop off her key to her very understanding landlord. Tony and Happy were waiting in the car when Tony’s phone rang. He quickly answered. “Em, what’s wrong?”

“I’m going out the front entrance.”

“Wait wait wait, what?! There’s still at least half a dozen news vans out there!”

“I know. I’m answering their questions. I just got the go-ahead from Pep.”

“They’re gonna eat you alive, kid!”

A dry chuckle came from the speaker. “I can handle myself, Mr.Stark. Gotta go!” She said before the call ended.

He looked at Happy, a brief look of concern passing between them before a notification popped up on Tony’s phone: ‘Hero Weekly live: Tony Stark’s alleged mistress tells all!’. He clicked on it and was greeted with a live stream with Emery surrounded by flashing lights and paparazzi, who were all shouting questions at her.

‘Miss Wren, Miss Wren, over here! Donovan Scott with Hero Weekly. What do you have to say about the photo leaked of you and Tony Stark having lunch together?’ The man asked.

‘It was a lunch between an employee and her boss, nothing more. The photo was taken out of context. He was stopping me from paying, not holding my hand. And it’s Dr.Wren, to you.’

The man seemed to ignore the last statement. ‘Miss Wren, what exactly is your relationship with Tony Stark?’

‘I’ve been his personal assistant for almost a year now. Once again, it’s Dr. Wren.’

‘Personal assistant? A pretty young thing like you? Must have been easy for you to get into that...position, Miss. Wren, given Tony’s past, hm?’ He said with a smirk, thinking he had finally exposed the true reason behind her employment, making Tony’s stomach turn in disgust.

Emery’s eyes turned hard as she shifted from her casual stance, straightening her back and squaring her shoulders, the authority and power practically radiating from her. ‘I assure you, Mr. Scott, my appearance has nothing to do with my employment at Stark Industries. I’m a graduate of Columbia, with Ph.ds in Physics, Biochemistry, and Mechanical Engineering, and a Masters in Business. On top of being Mr. Stark’s assistant, I’m also the head scientist of the Biochemistry division and coordinate the internship program, all of which are positions I assure you I did not sleep my way into. I have not been in a romantic or sexual relationship with Mr. Stark, nor will I ever be. Over the past year, he’s become a mentor and a close friend, so to even imply that our relationship is anything close to romantic makes me sick to my stomach. Mr. Stark is a generous, caring, and intelligent man who has matured since he first came into the media’s spotlight, yet you all seem to be stuck on the mistakes of his past. Because of that, your crude assumptions have forced me and my daughter out of our home for fear of our safety. So I’ll say it once again, Mr. Scott, so make sure you pay attention: My name is Dr. Wren. I’m not a conquest by Mr. Stark, who is a happily married man. I ask that none of you go to my work or my daughter’s school for any questions related to my relationship with Mr. Stark, otherwise, you’ll be faced with a lawsuit for harassment and libel. No further questions.’ She said coldly, pushing her way through the crowd to the van, at which point Tony turned off his phone, opting instead to open the door.

“Great job out there, kid.” He said once the door shut. “You gave them hell.”

She let out a short laugh. “They were awful, but nothing I couldn’t handle.” She said with a grin.

“Attagirl, now let’s go get your stuff to your floor. I have a mini hellion to meet!” He said, which was met with rolling eyes.

And if he later had his heart stolen by a little girl with curly blonde hair that was spouting just as much technobabble as her mother, he’d never tell. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy it? If you did, let me know!


	7. Her Age

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skidaddily, skidday, I wrote this in a day~

Months into their new living situation and not much had changed, in all honesty. Sure, Emery started training with him more, and she started going out on patrols on a more regular basis, but that was about it.

...And his self appointed babysitting duty during said patrols, despite Clara’s insistence that she was a big girl and could do it herself. The little girl eventually settled for letting him tuck her in at night.

It was one such night when, not long after putting Clara to bed, Emery came home after a long night of patrolling. He watched as she deactivated the suit and flopped down on the couch face first with a groan.

“Saw your fight on the news. That dude threw you pretty far, how you holding up?” He asked, putting down the plate he’d been washing.

She sat up, wincing slightly. “Nothing life-threatening. A couple of bruised ribs, a bit of muscle strain from when he grabbed my wing. It’ll heal by morning.” She said tiredly, casually waving her hand as if to say ‘whatever’. “How’s the chickadee?” She asked, looking up at him.

“In bed, but I had to stop her from taking apart the toaster again today. I’m glad her wings aren’t strong enough to carry her yet, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to find a hiding spot high enough to keep her from building her own robot army out of kitchen supplies.” He said, earning him a laugh from the younger hero. 

“Yeah, I had to strap down anything I didn’t want moving when she started to walk.” She replied. “She’ll grow out of it before she’s old enough for us to set her loose in the lab.” She assured him.

“Let’s hope so!” He joked. “Want a drink?” He asked, already moving to grab a glass. “I’m sure you need it after the fight you had.” He added, turning away to search for some alcohol.

“I’m not old enough to drink, Tony!” She called into the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah, maybe in the US, but New York is basically Canada, right? You’re fine!” He yelled over his shoulder.

“Not old enough there, either!”

“Whaddya mean? Drinking age is 18 there, you’re fine!”

“Tony, I’m 16.”

He almost dropped the glass in shock. “What?” He said, turning to look at her.

“That’s one of the reasons I declined your offer for a spot on the team,” She explained. “The amount of bad press that would come if it was revealed that the Avengers allowed a minor- no matter how capable- onto the battlefield would be overwhelming.”

“I- fucking Christ, kid.” He started before a horrifying realization dawned on him. “Wait, that means…”

She nodded. “The man that assaulted me got me pregnant a few months before I turned eleven. I escaped, made my new life, and gave birth halfway through my first semester at Colombia. I said that my mother had to take a second job and that we couldn’t afford a babysitter. With the knowledge that I had been a scholarship kid throughout high school and that I was only there because I got a full ride, the school allowed me to set her up in my dorm. I kept up with my studies, putting her into daycare once she was old enough, and she started kindergarten when she was three. After I started moonlighting as Dark Sparrow when I was 13, I had a supportive classmate who would babysit on the nights I patrolled, thinking I was working. I got money for everything she needed from being a TA and a tutor. I became the youngest Columbia graduate, got an apartment, applied here, and now here we are.” She said.

“Holy shit, kid. You decided to become a superhero when you were already a full-time student with a job and a kid? Did you even sleep? Are you even human?” He asked incredulously.

She gave a small laugh in return. “I used to have a Dymaxion sleep cycle. I took naps about every 6 hours,” She explained “and, in case you forgot, I’m not entirely human.” She teased, lifting her non injured wing as evidence to her less than human genes. Tony groaned at that.

“I swear on Thor’s hammer you’re gonna be the death of me, kid.”He said, rubbing his temples.” You’re already giving me grey hairs! Look!” He added, pointing to the greys peppered throughout his dark hair.

“Oh please, Tony, you had those before we met!” She sassed right back.

“Oh, you little-get back here!” He barked as she vaulted over the couch and raced to her room. 

“Goodnight, Mr.Stark!” Came her voice through the door, leaving him to, once again, process the bombshell his assistant had dropped.

Dear Lord, what was he going to handle this?


	8. Her Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, but I wanted to end this arc with hope for the future. Warning for a brief mention of panic attacks

“Mr.Stark, it appears Dr. Wren is in distress.”

Tony startled at the sound of FRIDAY’s voice, almost snapping at her for interrupting his work until he processed what she actually said.

“Fri, where is she?” He asked, his blood going cold. Was she still on patrol? Had she gotten hurt to the point that she couldn’t make it back to the tower? What if-

“She’s in her room, sir. It is, after all, three in the morning.” She said, an almost disapproving tone in her voice at his lack of sleep.

He rolled his eyes at her tone. “I know, I know, gotta get more sleep.” He said, waving her off as he headed to the elevator. “Take me to her.” He added, ignoring how rushed and panicked he sounded. He had ~~a kid~~ an employee  to take care of.

A short elevator ride later, he was standing outside his ~~kid's~~ assistant’s door, a hesitant hand raised to knock. Was this a line he wanted to cross? He wasn’t entirely sure. He’d helped her through flashbacks before, but she’d never needed his help at night.

“NO!” Came a loud cry from behind the door.

Screw it. She needs help, lines be damned!

He opened the door to see Emery sitting up in bed, panting as her eyes darted wildly around the room. He crossed over to the bed, sitting so he wasn’t towering over her, knowing that to be one of her triggers. Her reddened eyes locked on him and he froze, unsure if she was getting ready to attack. Her flashbacks had brought her back to the fight or flight days of her training on more than one occasion, and he’d sported the bruises to prove it. When she flung herself at him, he braced himself for the pain.

To his surprise, there was pain, not in the punches and scratches he knew, but in a bone-crushing hug. She clung to him like a life preserver, sobbing into his shoulder.

“He-he came back. He was supposed to die. He found me and Clara, and h-he tried to take her.” She hiccuped, trembling as she spoke. “You were there, and you tried to help, but he k-killed you, broke my wings, and took her. I couldn’t stop him, I couldn’t stop him, I couldn’t st-” She started mumbling, clearly starting to spiral into a panic attack before being cut off by the man she was clinging to.

“Emmy, you’re okay, “ He said gently, he hand rubbing soothing circles on the girl’s back in an attempt to calm her. “ He died in the fire. He’s not coming back. And if he does, I’m deploying every single Iron Man suit and the Avengers to stop him” He reassured her. “ You’ll be okay.”

One day, he hoped, she’d believe him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! That's the end of the first arc between Tony and Emery. This very quickly turned into a series, one I didn't even realize I wanted! The next few installments of this series, which will be aptly named the Enigma series, will involve other characters meeting Emery/ Dark Sparrow and Clara. I'm starting with Peter because I definitely want them to have a relationship (Platonic, not romantic), and I already have a rough plan for that fic, but I need help with the identity reveal for when she meets the Avengers.I'm thinking:
> 
> A. She's helping with a training simulation where she's the "helpless" hostage, only for her to be the "villain's" (Tony) accomplice who was baiting them by luring them into a false sense of security. Ft. Acting Skillz, shooketh Avengers, and Tony gleefully saving their reactions.  
> B. She agrees to spar with the Avengers, zones out and punches Steve in the face with her full strength by mistake. (or maybe accidentally kicks him in the chest and sends him flying across the gym instead) Ft. The mental image of a tiny child sending a man with biceps the size of her waist flying  
> C. She shows up in full costume to a battle Tony explicitly told her NOT to come to, hacks into the coms so she can communicate with them. Tony, forgetting that the others can hear them, starts chewing out the young hero, calling her by name for all the team to hear. Oops! Ft. Irondad  
> D. She gets kidnapped by people wanting leverage over Stark. The team, who have by now grown fiercely protective of the sweet and innocent genius, all want to immediately suit up as soon as the video feed showed up of her cuffed to a chair. Tony stops them, pointing to the screen. They all watch as Emmy, now tired of their pathetic attempts of torture, rips out of the hand and fights her way out. An hour later, she casually strolls into the living room and asks what's for breakfast. Ft. BAMF Emery and (once again) shooketh Avengers with newfound awe of the weak looking assistant.


End file.
